TL; DR
- Google has confirmed Quick Share’s AirDrop interoperability will roll out to “a lot more devices” in 2026, not just Pixel phones.
- The feature launched last year on the Pixel 10 series, letting Android phones share files directly with iPhones, iPads, and Macs without extra apps.
- Google also says it’s working with Apple to improve iPhone-to-Android switching, building on their December 2025 migration partnership.
Google has confirmed it will expand Quick Share’s AirDrop interoperability to many more Android phones this year. This will likely be via a Google Play system update, and not the typical software update.
The feature first arrived last year on the Pixel 10 series. It lets Android users share files directly with iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks using AirDrop-style discovery and transfers, without needing extra apps.
Google made it possible by turning Quick Share’s extension into a Play Store APK, instead of tying it to Pixel-only system components. That already suggested a wider rollout, even though it mostly stayed limited to the Pixel 10 lineup. Recent Canary builds also started bringing it to the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro.
Eric Kay, Google’s VP of Engineering for Android, confirmed the expansion during a press briefing at Google’s Taipei office while demonstrating Pixel Labs. He said, “Last year, we launched AirDrop interoperability. In 2026, we’re going to be expanding it to a lot more devices.”
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He also said the team spent significant effort making it work reliably across iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, and now that it’s stable, Google is working with partners to push it beyond Pixel. Kay added, “You should see some exciting announcements coming very soon.”
Carl Pei had previously said he wanted it as soon as possible. Qualcomm has also hinted at enabling similar support across Snapdragon devices. If Google pushes this as a standard Quick Share capability, Samsung and other major Android brands could also adopt it.
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Kay also talked about Google’s broader push to make switching from iPhone to Android easier. He said Google is working with Apple on better data transfer tools, building on the December 2025 announcement where both companies confirmed joint work to improve migration.
Google still hasn’t shared a full device list or exact rollout schedule beyond “very soon” and “this year.” The Play Store-based system update seems likely here, because it means Google can expand support through updates instead of waiting for full Android OS releases.
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